Phoenix school is the next on School District 72’s list to undergo seismic upgrading after a funding announcement by the province earlier this month.
The district submitted a wish list to the province last October with projects it would like to undertake over the next five years.
At the time, secretary-treasurer Kevin Patrick said it was possible none would be approved and if they were, it could take some time.
“Our request for funding for the school district capital projects doesn’t mean they will be funded but it helps the ministry with understanding our priorities,” Patrick said. “The ministry will then take a list of priorities from all the districts and decide what projects will be allocated funding. There’s a good chance none of the projects will be approved but we’re always hopeful at least one will be approved.”
Two weeks ago, one of those wishes came true.
At a school board meeting April 9, board of education chair Michele Babchuk announced that École Phoenix Middle School will receive funding for seismic upgrades under Premier Christy Clark’s three-year, $584 million school upgrade program.
The district had applied for $6.9 million in funding to earthquake-proof the school as part of the district’s five-year capital plan.
The district now has to wait for specific project approval, with the capital funding amount, from the Ministry of Education.
Once that’s received, the district will proceed with a project design to identify the full scope of the project and to develop a construction timeline.
It is anticipated that preparation work will get underway in the summer and the project will begin in the upcoming school year.
